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I don't want to say I hear voices well, actually I do hear voices, but I don't think it's supernatural. I think it's just that when characters are given enough texture and backbone, then lo and behold, they stand on their own.

Anne Tyler

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Anne Tyler
Age: 83
Born: 1941
Born: October 25
Librarian
Novelist
Short Story Writer
Writer
Minneapolis
Minnesota
Well
Characters
Enough
Stand
Think
Hear
Thinking
Actually
Backbone
Voice
Behold
Given
Supernatural
Character
Texture
Wells
Voices

More quotes by Anne Tyler

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I'll write maybe one long paragraph describing the events, then a page or two breaking the events into chapters, and then reams of pages delving into my characters. After that, I'm ready to begin
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My decision to start a new one is just that, a decision, since I never get inspirations.
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Liam really enjoyed a good movie. He found it restful to watch people's conversations without being expected to join in. But he always felt sort of lonesome if he didn't have someone next to him to nudge in the ribs at the good parts.
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I consciously try to end my novels at a point where I won't have to wonder about my characters ever again.
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One sad thing about this world is that the acts that take the most out of you are usually the ones that people will never know about. (from 'Celestial Navigation')
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I'm falling into disrepair
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I save the best of myself for novels, and I believe it shows
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Just because we're related doesn't mean we are any good at understanding each other.
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None of my own experiences ever finds its way into my work. However, the stages of my life - motherhood, middle age, etc. - often influence my subject matter.
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She was good at talking with young people. She seemed to view them as interesting foreigners.
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Isn't a memorial service meant to comfort the living?
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Some people are aware of everything that is going on everywhere at every moment in their lives.
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I write because I want to have more than one life.
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No couple buying wedding rings wants to be reminded that someday one of them will have to accept the other one's ring from a nurse or an undertaker.
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I read so I can live more than one life in more than one place.
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While armchair travelers dream of going places, traveling armchairs dream of staying put.
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He was wondering if there was some cryptic, cultish mark on his door that told all the crazy people he'd have trouble saying no.
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My family can always tell when I'm well into a novel because the meals get very crummy.
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I wonder how many times we dream that kind of dream-something strange and illogical-and fail to realize God is trying to tell us something.
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It is not how much you love someone, but who you are when you are with him.
Anne Tyler